With the advent of the Internet, there has been a proliferation of web based applications. Each application can have one or more different functions or services. When integrating one or more of these applications, one way for the applications to communicate is through the use of web services. This integration and communication may be accomplished by means of XML, Simple Object Access Protocol (“SOAP”), Web Services Description Language (“WSDL”) and Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (“UDDI”) open standards over an Internet protocol. Web services may be used not only over the Internet but also within a corporation's intranet.
The development of software generally includes several stages. One essential stage in software development, including web based applications, is effective testing because the proper functionality of the software is key to the satisfaction of the end user. Accordingly, it is useful to have a tool that can provide efficient testing of the web service.
There are currently several tools available that provide the testing of web services. However, these available testing tools generally suffer from several challenges. First, some of the existing testing platforms are not sufficiently flexible in that they may not support the myriad of variations to which web services can be subjected and they may not support some advanced usability features. Second, some of the available testing tools may not support the automation of testing. Third, some of the existing testing platforms may not allow the testing to take place from a centralized location. Instead, the current testing tools are client based and accordingly typically require a download onto the user's system which, in turn, may require the usage of considerable memory space and are Operating System specific. In this regard, there is therefore a need for an improved web testing tool that can address at least some of these challenges in the area of web service testing.